Giant wind turbine plant planned for former steelworks site

Demolition and decommissioning specialist Able UK has submitted its “scoping plans” to build a huge wind turbine plant on the site of a former steelworks on Teesside.

Able wants to develop a 72-hectare site on former SSI steelworks land on the banks of the Tees, building a facility that would create around 600 jobs, combining assembly, installation and servicing of offshore wind turbines on one super-site.

Details of the project have emerged in early-stage planning documents submitted to Redcar and Cleveland Council.

The document said: "The broad aim of the development is to serve the renewable offshore marine energy sector, which is making a substantial contribution to a new secure, low carbon and balanced energy mix for the UK. The sector is currently dominated by offshore wind turbines, which comprise a number of component parts manufactured at different locations by different suppliers. These individual parts need to be brought together at a construction port close to their offshore point of installation. Given the location of the North Sea offshore wind farms, the application site provides an optimal location for a number of offshore projects."

The scale of the project indicates a potential investment of hundreds of millions of pounds, and construction of the quay and wider development is expected to take two years with a peak workforce of a further 250 staff.

A full planning application could be made later this year.